New vehicle sales for 2005 have started on a strong note, the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA (Naamsa) said on Wednesday.
It said aggregate combined new vehicle sales at 40 627 units registered an improvement of 7 026 units or 20,9%, compared to 33 601 units sold during the corresponding month last year.
From a seasonal perspective, January represented an increasingly strong sales month as buyers (particularly new car purchasers) sought to benefit from the new year’s model registration date and the associated higher resale value of vehicles.
Sales in all segments had registered gains compared to the same month last year.
Compared to the 2004 December aggregate sales figures of 35 962, total January 2005 sales had risen by 4 665 units or 13%.
January 2005 new car sales at 28 910 units — the highest January monthly total on record — reflected a gain of 5 259 units or 22,2% compared to the 23 651 new cars sold during January last year.
Sales of new light commercial vehicles, bakkies and minibuses at 10 216 units during January 2005 reflected an improvement of 1 373 units or 15,5% compared to the 8 843 units sales of the corresponding month in 2004.
Naamsa said sales in the medium and heavy truck segments of the industry had also started the year on a high note. The January 2005 sales at 736 units and 765 units respectively, had recorded an improvement of 314 units or 74,4% in medium commercials, and 80 units or 11,6% in heavy trucks and buses.
It said that due to the strong rand and highly competitive global market conditions, the momentum of vehicle exports had continued to soften throughout last year.
Aggregate industry vehicle exports during 2004 declined by 15%nbsp;408 units or 12,2% to 111 253 units compared to the 126 661 vehicles exported in 2003.
In revenue terms, vehicle exports during 2004 would have approximated R18-billion.
Naamsa said the growth trend established last year was expected to continue and following an improvement in aggregate new vehicle sales of 22% during 2004, industry projections at this stage for 2005 anticipated an improvement in aggregate sales for the year of at least 10%. – Sapa